‘Mum, we’re off to the World Cup’ – Eng­land foot­ball squad

Eng­land man­ager Gareth South­gate on Wed­nes­day named his 23-man squad for the World Cup. AFP Sport looked at the so­cial me­dia re­sponse from South­gate’s play­ers:

“Af­ter years of stand­ing on the touch­line in the cold and rain, Mum, we’re off to the World Cup.” — Manch­ester United striker Mar­cus Rash­ford.

“I’ve dreamed of go­ing to a World Cup since I was a kid. To­day that dream came true, an hon­our to rep­re­sent the Three Lions this sum­mer!” — Liver­pool’s un­capped young­ster Trent Alexan­der-Arnold.

“Can’t wait to get there and do the fans proud! Thank you for all your kind mes­sages!” — Manch­ester City de­fender Kyle Walker.

“Maybe this picture said I was gonna live my dream and go to a World Cup ... dreams do come true.” — Manch­ester United de­fender Ash­ley Young wrote, along­side a photo of him in an Eng­land kit as a child.

“Ev­ery call-up is an hon­our, but a World Cup call-up is some­thing ex­tra spe­cial! I’ve al­ways dreamt of this mo­ment and can’t wait for the next cou­ple of months. Let’s go Eng­land.” — Stoke goal­keeper Jack But­land.

“It’s an hon­our to be named in the Eng­land squad for the World Cup. … Get me to Rus­sia!” — Tot­ten­ham mid­fielder Dele Alli.

“What an hon­our! No words to de­scribe the feel­ing right now. Can’t wait to get go­ing! See you in Rus­sia.” — Le­ices­ter striker Jamie Vardy.

“It’s a priv­i­lege and an hon­our to be se­lected for Eng­land to go to the WC2018 in Rus­sia. Can­not wait to get out there and do the fans proud! Let’s do this!” — Arse­nal for­ward Danny Wel­beck.